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Ticked off bees

Well I really ticked off my biggest hive. Yesterday I pulled a few frames for a nuke and put an escape board on. They got pretty POed. I used plenty of smoke, but they really went off, bees boiling up between the frames, bouncing off the veil ect. Got the job done with just a few stings making it through my jeans and closed thing up. Checked a few other hives and got the same thing. Every time I even touched a frame, bees boiling up between frames like mad. I figure the first hive marked me with alarm sent. But the problem is this, I still can't even go in my garden 20' to the side of the big hive with out getting buzzed and even stung this morning. We don't have skunks or any thing like that here and they were not so defensive before I worked them. They seem to have me "marked". I have to get the supers off today, which should be fun. Other then just let them be, is there any way to calm them down?

Re: Ticked off bees

I am not sure but I also ticked my 1 hive off yesterday. It has been raining at least sometime everyday for the last week so I haven't bee able to mow. I know my bees don't like me mowing around their hives so I had my suit on, thank god. Lets just say I got tooo close to the one cider block and clipped it with my rear wheel. Yep 2 deeps and a med honey super right over. Luckly my wife was also suited up and we were able to get them back up pretty quick. I haven't gone out yet today to see if there still pissed. Good luck.

Re: Ticked off bees

I did all that. I do that, work from the side, try to pick nice weather, try to work when there is nectar coming in ect, ect. These girls are POed! I took off the super this AM. Most of them were calm. But a few went right for the face before I even got to smoke them. I don't have to bother them for a couple of weeks now so hopefully they will calm down. This hive has always been a little feisty but the queen is the most mite resistant I have ever had so I have been making nukes from her. They are a VSH line from Velbert. Very productive. I hope I didn't make a mistake. Time will tell.

Re: Ticked off bees

If it's been raining on and off for days, likely you have a hive full of irritated foragers. Those bees are the grumpiest, and being stuck inside the hive by bad weather can make them really cranky.

I found that out the other year, don't plan on opening the hive when they've been stuck inside for days unless you have to, they are going to be really defensive. I'm not looking forward to Sunday -- we need to do the spring extracting and have been zapped by rain every weekend for a month. It may be rather exciting to pull honey!

Re: Ticked off bees

We have a lot of privet in bloom and they love that so we are not in a dearth. I worked them at 8:00 in the morning hoping to beat the heat, and most of them were still home. That probably didn't help.

Re: Ticked off bees

I'm up the island from you and as Mr. Beeman offered, robbing will set them off. I have some robbing going on in my yard even though the privet is in full bloom here too.
Just this week I opened up a hive that contains a swarm I hived a month ago and they came right at me. They had not reacted this way before. I thought right away that I'll need to requeen this bunch until I noticed the two nucs I made nearly 3 weeks ago were fighting off some robbers. I reduced the entry holes down to a bee and 1/2 wide and they are holding their own.
I also reduced the entrances of my production hives as there seems to be some robbers around them too.
It seems a little early, but I guess not.

Re: Ticked off bees

Since you said "bees boiling up between the frames", I would agree that you had a house full of irritated bees that had not much else to do. I keep my suit pretty smoked so it smells like it all the time. Bees pay me no mind at all.

Re: Ticked off bees

Originally Posted by BillS

We have a lot of privet in bloom and they love that so we are not in a dearth. I worked them at 8:00 in the morning hoping to beat the heat, and most of them were still home. That probably didn't help.

Bill S

That's for sure. I have worked bees lately w/out gloves. Smoke inside the entrance and then smoke under the lid before actually manipulating combs. Keeping the smoker at hand should it be needed.

I'd have to be right by your side to really know what to tell you to do differently. Nothing u don't already know.

Re: Ticked off bees

You think your bees sleep in like you??? That made me chuckle....
From what you post and describe, you have a hot hive.... I would requeen myself... if its raining, skunks, or recently vanilized I will excuse them, otherwise they are takeing the joy out of your beekeeping for no reason.

Should be able to completly tear that hive down without any real issues......

Re: Ticked off bees

Last weekend I helped a friend add supers. He just put up an electric fence after a bear got into two of his hives a week or so earlier, when I got the lid off one that had been tipped they went full on berserk. They buzzed and bumped until I got stung in the knee. I finished adding the super and the front of my legs were almost covered with bees, I had to walk away about 75 yards brushing them off as I went. My friend says he can smell the pheramone they release after they sting. Has anyone else been able to smell this. What does it smell like?